All posts tagged: Tony awards

Last week’s Tony Awards survey and its revealing results got me in the surveyin’ spirit.

When I was thinking about who to survey next, I realized that it has been some time since we have taken a survey of . . . YOU!

As you know, I’m a big believer in constantly asking your audience what they think of your show, your marketing, the amount of ice cubes in your $10 cokes, etc. Are you going to pay attention to every comment that you get? No. But if you see the same comment more than thrice. . . Well, then I’d investigate if I were you.

And now it’s time to practice what I preach!

Below is a link to a quick survey that will ask you some demographic info (so we can reveal just who is reading TPP – which I will do so publicly), and it’ll also ask you to give us some feedback on the blog. And I’ll use that feedback to make the blog better for all of you. Promise.

So if there’s something you want less of–or more of–now is your chance.

In a dramatic move that deserves its own aria, New York City Opera, the very first tenant of the center known as Lincoln, announced that it was up and moving.

Where?

No one, including NYCO, knows.

The question on everybody’s mind . . . is this the end of New York City Opera? And, gulp, is this the beginning of the end for opera???

It’s a challenged art form, no doubt. As less and and less people are brought up on it, less and less people are supporting it (either through ticket sales or donations).

Unfortunately, I think that in 10 years, the end of NYCO’s reign at Lincoln Center will be remembered as the closing that was heard around the world. More closings will follow. The audiences are shrinking, which means the business model will have to correct itself by decreasing supply. Ironically, competitors, like The Met (who has done a kick ass job of making opera relevant), will benefit.

What does this mean for our closely-related industry?

We’ve seen our audience contract in recent years. We’ve seen our ticket prices increase in recent years. And we’ve seen a billion other entertainment options pop up in your pocket!

It’s essential that we get out ahead of the opera so we’re not faced with a similar breaking news item in 10 years.

But I’m not sure we can.

In fact, I’ll predict right now that one of the major non-profit theaters in this city will go out of business in the next decade. Which one? Simple – whichever company chooses to produce shows that no longer feel relevant to today’s theatergoer.

– – – – –

FUN STUFF

– Come to our Tony Awards Party! Click here for more info and to get your ticket now!

The annual Broadway League report that details the demographics and habits of the audience of Broadway shows around the country was released last week.

And, I’ve got the skinny.

Audiences at over twenty theaters from LA to Boston and several in between were asked a bunch of questions, and then the data was crunched and spit out for us to analyze, and use to our advantage as we develop and market product in the future.

And if we don’t use it, then it’s totally WITHOUT value. Information that isn’t used, is like an unloaded weapon in the middle of a war; it makes you looks like you know what you’re doing, but at the first sign of trouble, you’re dead meat.

Now that I’ve shot off that depressing simile, here are the highlights from the Executive Summary of the report.

Ready?

In the 2009-2010 season, there were nearly 16 million attendances to Broadway touring shows across North America.

Seventy-two percent of attendees were female.

The average age of the Touring Broadway theatregoer was 53.8 years old.

The vast majority of theatregoers were Caucasian.

Seventy-four percent of the audience held a college degree and 31% held a graduate degree.

Forty-six percent of national theatregoers reported an annual household income of more than $100,000, compared to only 20% of Americans overall.

Thirty-six percent of respondents were subscribers to the “Broadway Series” at their local venue.

On average, Touring Broadway attendees saw 4.4 shows per year.

Women continued to be more likely than men to make the decision to purchase tickets to the show.

Nearly two-thirds of audiences looked to the theatre’s website to find information about the show.

Other than being included in the subscription, personal recommendation was the most influential source for show selection.

The Tony Awards® were also reported to be more influential this season than in previous seasons. Eighteen percent of respondents said that Tony Awards® or nominations were a reason they attended the show, compared to 14% in the 2007-2008 and 8% in the 2005-2006 season. Furthermore, 8% responded that seeing a scene of the show on the Tony® telecast encouraged them to attend the show, compared to 4% in previous years.

Advertising was less influential than it had been in the past, but noted forms were print ads, television commercials, and internet ads.

Thirty-five percent of Touring Broadway theatregoers used the Internet to purchase their tickets, up from 26% in the 2008-2009 season.

Advance sales to single-ticket buyers has increased in comparison to the past several years.

Most Touring Broadway theatregoers attended in small groups of family or friends.

Sixty-two percent of the audience said that some kind of incentive (discounts for restaurants, parking and transportation, free merchandise, backstage tours, or complete packages) would encourage them to attend theatre more frequently.

Facebook was the most widely used social networking site.

The vast majority of Touring Broadway theatregoers arrived at the venue by personal car.

Besides theatre, moviegoing was by far the most popular leisure activity.

Twenty-seven percent of respondents said they made a visit to New York City in the past year.

Seventy-one percent of respondents said that different performance times would not make a difference in encouraging them to attend Touring Broadway more frequently.

Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they would prefer to receive theatre information electronically, rather than via postal mail.

Well I got a Satisfactory “C” or 75% on my Tony Award nomination predictions. How did you do?

I missed one in the Best Play nomination category and one in the Best Musical category.

In Best Play, I went with the almost-Pulitzer Bengal Tiger, which was pushed out by The “Mother” With The Hat (as Matthew Broderick called it on the Tony Awards live stream). MF with the Hat has had quite a ride, with a first weekly gross of only $217k, a Michael Riedel article saying it was going to close in a week, and now . . . grosses of $600k-plus and a chance at Tony Gold!

In Best Musical, I tried to outsmart the Tony Award nominators, and got outsmarted in return. Rather than go for two artistic choices, they stuck with just one, Scottsboro Boys, and gave the fourth and final spot to the original Sister Act. (I assume Sister’s original score is what gave it the advantage over Priscilla and its jukebox score.)

What else surprised me?

– My jaw is still on the floor that Daniel Radcliffe was snubbed for his superstar turn in How To Succeed. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed that someone’s hard work and all around awesomeness wasn’t rewarded. Was this a response to last year’s backlash that too many Hollywood stars were given award attention over Broadway stars? That would explain the lack of noms for the star-driven, Oceans 11-like cast of That Chamionship Season. (Now, will Radcliffe prove the better man and host/present anyway? I’d bet yes. But nominators? Be on the look out, he just might throw a Furunculus Curse spell on you)

– Many a show and a performer were affected by something I’m now calling “The Scottsboro Syndrome.” It’s when a closed but critically acclaimed show sneaks back in and gets a lot more nominations that anyone ever expected. Catch Me’s score and choreography were just a few that were felled by “The Syndrome.”

– In this incredibly crowded season, a lot of shows were left without even a single nomination including Wonderland, Pee Wee, Elf, Ghetto Klown, Rain, A Free Man of Color, and a bunch more . . . most of which would have been included if we still had a Special Theatrical Event category (hint, hint).

What surprised you?

Now that the nominations are out, it’s time to start handicapping the actual awards! I mean, come on, is there anything more exciting for a theater fan than the 6 weeks between nominations and the big day?

And it’s also time to try and win stuff! Look for the announcement of our Tony Award Pool later this week! Big prizes! Big fun!